Why Give?

The MMS Fund is the school’s annual year-long fundraising effort. It provides essential unrestricted dollars that go to work immediately: investing in faculty and professional development, exploring modern curricular enhancements and supporting pilot programs in the classrooms. Your gift to The MMS Fund helps to secure the long-term financial stability of MMS.

What makes MMS a great school? You can sum it up in three ways:

Curriculum

It’s a rare early-childhood Montessori program that offers the kind of specialized classes that our Primary children receive: art, music, strings, French, Spanish, and nature education at Black Rock Forest. The combination of Montessori fundamentals with enrichment classes in the arts and nature provides the children with an appreciation for the world in which they live and a strong foundation for their future learning. In Elementary, our program becomes broader and deeper with an emphasis on problem-solving, analytical thinking, self-expression, and abstract reasoning. Through our performing arts program, children learn choral singing, music theory, and participate in the Upper Elementary play. This year, we are excited about adding to our Upper Elementary performing-arts programs. In addition to their work in voice and music theory, the students participate in the Upper Elementary play, learning more about acting and self expression through improvisation, choreography, scene studies, and theater games.

Teachers

Our 6:1 student-teacher ratio is outstanding by even the standards of independent schools. Additionally, every staff member is committed to nurturing the children and modeling the school’s expectations for thoughtfulness in our work and our relations to others. More than half of our faculty and staff hold advanced degrees, and nearly 40 percent of them have lived in another country! The students work closely with their teachers, learning how to question, solve problems, and express themselves in a variety of ways. They grow socially and emotionally into responsible and respectful young people. They learn how to love learning, a trait that stays with them long after MMS.

Community

Two characteristics stand out. First, we are a diverse community, and we learn from each other’s varied life experiences every day. And second, we are passionate about the children’s education. People give above and beyond at this school, and their dedication is reflected in every corner: the teachers, the parents, the Board of Trustees, the volunteers, and the ongoing support of former families who remember with gratitude their years at MMS.

As we look to the future, we recognize the values and the vision of the past, and so many people who worked to bring MMS to where it is today. The enduring values of MMS — its compassion, its integrity, its commitment to nurturing the needs of every child — remain strong. Your support of The MMS Fund sends a message that you appreciate the work of this community, honor the commitment of those families who brought the school to this time, and want to be part of the institution’s future.